Chapter 3 : A Shocking Proposal

A moment later, Yihyun managed to get a call through to the overly groveling manager and set up a meeting at Ijeong’s agency.

“We’d love to just say it’s not true, but the situation has blown up a bit. I’m really sorry. If you’re okay with it, could you come to our office today to talk? We’ll send someone to pick you up. I’m truly sorry. I failed to manage him properly…”

Listening to the manager’s voice, barely catching his breath as he spewed apologies and explanations at the same time, Yihyun felt a pang of sympathy as a fellow employee.

“Haah…”

Having made the hasty appointment, Yihyun sighed in the taxi, forcing himself to ignore the nonstop stream of calls.

Still, he figured he should look into who this guy was.

He searched the name Kang Ijeong, and an enormous amount of information poured out.

[Kang Ijeong, this year’s top super rookie who rose to stardom right after debut]

[Trending Kang Ijeong cast as male lead in writer Lee Hyoeun’s new work ‘You Are Not Me’]

[Kang Ijeong, youngest Best Actor winner at Baekho Art Awards… Where is his limit?]

Age 27.

‘What the, he’s younger than me.’

Yihyun frowned as he read his profile.

“Oh, this is the movie Gyujin hyung wanted to go see earlier…”

Looking through his filmography, he spotted several drama and movie titles he had heard of.

He was incredibly famous.

Yihyun went back to the articles and began reading them carefully.

Then he came across one that stood out.

[Beyond Rising: The ‘Trending’ Kang Ijeong, Ranked #1 Man You Want to Date for 5 Consecutive Years]

Come to think of it, the headlines had mentioned something about a man people wanted to date.

Yihyun clicked on the headline to read the article.

[Kang Ijeong, the trending actor currently appearing in the Monday-Tuesday drama ‘The President’s Great Hobby’, has become a hot topic by taking first place in the ‘Man You Want to Date’ rankings for five consecutive years.

Now 27 years old, actor Kang Ijeong started acting at the relatively late age of 20, and the following year at 21, he caught the public’s eye by playing the cute younger man ‘Yoo I-jae’.

At 187 cm tall, he is a born Alpha with an excellent physique.

With his outstanding looks and acting skills to match, he earned the title of ‘Nation’s Actor’ at a young age, captivating the public not only with his appearance and acting but also with his various charms.

Known as the grandson of the EH Group chairman, he studied abroad in the U.S. until he turned 20 and also shows talent in various sports, a so-called ‘perfect guy’.

When his relationship with the EH Group was revealed two years ago, he stated that he wanted to live as actor Kang Ijeong without his family’s help, and it is known that he entered acting despite his family’s strong opposition.

Although he claimed to receive no family support in his acting career, netizens who saw his excellent attitude and diverse talents responded with comments like ‘As expected, a perfect guy’ and ‘The grandson of a conglomerate group speaks with an air of wealth.’

Meanwhile, Kang Ijeong…]

“We’ve arrived.”

While engrossed in reading the article, or maybe it was a praise piece, Yihyun found himself in front of Ijeong’s agency.

‘Please contact me as soon as you arrive!’

“Oh, one moment. Could you keep the meter running and wait here?”

Remembering the manager’s earnest request, Yihyun asked the taxi driver for understanding and called the manager again.

–Ah, Yihyun-ssi.–

“I’m on the first floor.”

The manager, who must have been waiting, answered before the ringtone even finished, asking urgently.

–You didn’t come through the front entrance, did you?–

“I’m at the front.”

Yihyun glanced at the crowd gathered at the main gate of RAINS Company.

He had expected a crowd, but this was his first time here—where else was he supposed to go?

–Are you in a taxi?–

“Yes.”

–Then we’ll send someone now. Could you come to the Mizrella Cafe behind the building? Oh, do you have anything to cover your face?–

“I brought a mask. Got it. Driver, please drive around to the back of the building and stop in front of Mizrella Cafe.”

“Okay~.”

With the destination changed, Yihyun put on the mask he had in his pocket.

“The building sure is grand.”

He never imagined he would ever come to a place like this in his life.

Yihyun looked up at the RAINS Company building.

It was said to be one of the top agencies in the country, and he guessed that wasn’t just talk.

“Take care~.”

Yihyun got out of the taxi, acknowledging the driver’s farewell.

The driver gave him a suspicious look when Yihyun suddenly put on a mask, but then turned away and drove off.

As he waited in front of the cafe, a man cautiously approached him.

“You’re Seo Yihyun, right?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, sorry for the trouble. Please follow me. Kang Ijeong and the director are waiting.”

The man, who apologized first, led Yihyun into the company building.

Entering the building as cautiously as if they were filming a spy movie, Yihyun finally took off his mask and asked.

“What exactly happened?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll explain properly once we go upstairs, but… it seems he was so focused on avoiding a stalker that he didn’t pay attention to the reporters.”

The man kept apologizing even inside the elevator.

‘Yeah, it’s the person who caused the trouble who’s at fault, there’s no point getting angry at the ones cleaning it up.’

Yihyun forced himself to calm down and kept his mouth shut.

“Ah, follow me.”

The elevator stopped, and Yihyun followed the man into a conference room at RAINS Company.

“I’ve brought him. As you all know, this is Seo Yihyun. Yihyun-ssi, this is our director, Kim Jaeryeon. And this is…”

“I’m Lee Juseok, Ijeong’s manager, the one you spoke with. I’m truly sorry for dragging you into this so suddenly, Yihyun-ssi.”

Ijeong’s manager bowed ninety degrees.

“The most important person isn’t here.”

Yihyun looked around the conference room.

As he said, despite summoning the manager and even a company director, Ijeong himself was absent.

“Ah, he had an urgent schedule… He’s on his way now, so he should arrive soon. Probably about ten minutes.”

The manager glanced at Yihyun’s reaction.

“Please have a seat first. As I said, I’m Kim Jaeryeon, director of RAINS Company. I’ve known Kang Ijeong since he was young, so I’m here as something like a guardian.”

“I’m Seo Yihyun.”

After a brief self-introduction, Yihyun sat down.

If they had called him all the way here, they must have some kind of plan.

Yihyun looked at Jaeryeon with a skeptical gaze.

“So, first I’d like to hear how this happened. I came out in a hurry and haven’t fully grasped the situation.”

“Ah, yes. First, I heard Ijeong told you about the stalker issue. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

Yihyun nodded, and the manager let out a deep sigh.

“Haah, as you heard, Ijeong is being harassed by a malicious stalker, and it seems he was so focused on the stalker that he forgot about the reporters.”

“Even after filming, he openly said it was a scoop and ran away?”

Actually, Yihyun himself had been too stunned to remember that part clearly, but still, the other person was a celebrity.

Shouldn’t he have been more careful?

When Yihyun asked, the manager looked visibly flustered.

“He… he did that? He didn’t tell us that… We only found out this morning when we were contacted by the media.”

His voice had been quiet, so it wouldn’t be strange if Ijeong hadn’t heard it.

But at least he should have known he was being filmed.

“Well, maybe he didn’t hear it… Anyway, I feel like I’ve been hit by a bolt from the blue overnight. See this?”

Yihyun showed his phone screen, which kept ringing even as they spoke.

“Ah, I’m truly sorry. We should have been more careful, but the other side released it without any grace period.”

The manager bowed his head again.

“And about that part, there’s something I need to tell you…”

The manager began to hesitate, glancing at Yihyun.

‘I need to finish this quickly and go home to comfort Yeseo.’

Growing a bit impatient, Yihyun asked.

“Is there a problem?”

“Well… um…”

“Manager Lee, I’ll handle this.”

Unable to stand the manager’s trembling hands, Jaeryeon stepped in.

Wearing a displeased expression, Jaeryeon looked straight at Yihyun.

“Seo Yihyun-ssi, I’ll be direct.”

“…What is it?”

Sensing something ominous, Yihyun fidgeted with his hands.

“It’s not a hug, it’s a kissing video that got released. Claiming you’re not lovers would severely damage Ijeong’s image. Plus, you even said ‘I’ in the video.”

That was true.

If it were a photo, they could argue it was the angle.

But since it was a video, there was no way to deny it; they looked exactly like lovers.

“…But that’s Kang Ijeong’s problem. It doesn’t really concern me. I just happened to get assaulted on the street…”

“We’ll compensate you fully. Three months, just three months. Could you pretend to be Ijeong’s lover?”

At Jaeryeon’s follow-up words, Yihyun’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

“What?”

“Please. Three months is enough. No, if that’s not possible, even one month would be fine. Could you just pretend to be Ijeong’s lover?”

“I beg you, Yihyun-ssi. Please think of it as saving one person, no, two, no, many lives…”

As Ijeong’s manager joined in pleading, Yihyun was too flustered to respond.

“No, what is this? This makes no sense…”

“Sorry I’m late.”

Just then, a man wearing a cap pulled low opened the conference room door and entered.

An aura that couldn’t be hidden by a cap, tall height, excellent physique.

Even before he took off his cap, Yihyun recognized him.

“The reporters completely blocked the road.”

Yihyun, his eyes sharp as knives, looked up at the man who had caused all this trouble.